Rule 12
by Twilight Trekky
Summary: Tony's face lit up. "There IS someone behind Rule#12, isn't there?" Kate crumpled up a piece of scrap paper and threw it at him. Gibbs started walking to the elevators. "Yeah, DiNozzo, there is." JIBBS TATE Please R&R ONE-SHOT Set in season 2 ish


**Rule #12**

**By Twilight Trekky**

**Rating: K+**

**Pairings: Jibbs and Tate**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

**A/N: This idea just kind of came to me when I saw Tony and Kate flirting around each other in some episode. ONE-SHOT! Please Review after! **

"C'mon Kate, just one drink!" Tony whined from his desk.

"Tony, I would never go on a date with you, even if I was interested," Kate said.

"Why not?"

"Gibbs has Rule #12 for a reason," she said firmly.

Tony snorted. "What about those rules? It's not like anyone actually ever had a relationship with a fellow agent!"

They both looked over at Gibbs when they heard him drop something.

"Gibbs, you okay?" Kate asks worriedly.

Gibbs didn't answer. He picked up the stapler he had dropped and placed it back into its original spot on his desk.

Tony's face lit up. "I know what it is! There _is_ someone behind Rule #12, isn't there? Am I right?"

Kate crumpled up a scrap piece of paper and chucked it at him, trying to get him to shut up. She could see the sad look on Gibbs' face.

Gibbs started walking to the elevator. He stopped at Tony's desk briefly. "Yeah, there is, DiNozzo." He then continued on his way to the elevator.

The elevator doors opened and Ducky stepped out. "Ah, Jethro," he said, "I was just looking for you."

Gibbs got onto the elevator and while the doors were closing, he said, "Not now, Duck."

Ducky, confused, walked over to Tony and Kate. "What was that all about?"

Kate glared at Tony. "Tony here doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Do you, Tony?"

"What?" he asked. "I just wanted to know if there was a girl behind Rule #12!"

Ducky's face darkened slightly. "Jennifer," he whispered.

Tony looked at him curiously. "Who?"

Ducky looked around before grabbing the chair of the empty desk next to Tony's and pulling it over to Tony's desk. Kate whirled in her chair over to the two as Ducky started telling his story.

"It all started in 1997 when Jennifer was assigned to Jethro as his partner. She as just a probie at the time. Naturally, she had red hair and long legs."

"Sounds cute," Tony said, smiling. Kate smacked him, quieting him.

"They had a very… different relationship. She was fire and he was ice. She would do the most dangerous things to him that no one else would dare do," Ducky said. "Their relationship started to improve, however, when Jethro divorced Diane in the spring of '98. In early January of 1999, Director Morrow sent the two over to Europe on an ops mission. On their second night stationed in Marseilles… well…. you know…" he trailed off, knowing that Kate and (especially) Tony could fill in the blanks.

"Seriously?" Kate asked.

"Seriously," Ducky said. "They started a relationship even though both of them knew it was a very bad idea. They got so far into their relationship, too far. They were in love. Neither of them could turn back from it without ruining their previous relationship. Jethro was being transferred back here to D.C. and he wanted Jennifer to go with him, but she was offered her own post elsewhere in Europe. She wanted to climb the career ladder and get promotions. She took the post in Europe. All she left Jethro was a "Dear John" letter in her coat pocket that she left on the plane."

"That's horrible," Kate whispered.

Ducky nodded. "It was. It was even worse to see Jethro the months following after. He tried to cover up his pain by marrying Stephanie, but that ended quickly. Jennifer was the reason why Jethro made Rule #12."

Kate and Tony exchanged almost horrified glances. Tony looked at Ducky. "Is that why Gibbs presses that rule into us so hard? He doesn't want us making the same mistake as him and getting our hearts broken like he did?"

Ducky nodded sorrowfully. "Yes, Anthony. The sad thing is that he and Jennifer really were great together. They completed each other, and Jethro finally found a woman that he might not have gotten divorced from. God knows he's had enough of those."

Despite the "situation" they were in, Kate and Tony laughed. "So it was a good mistake?" Kate asked.

Ducky smiled. "That's what I like to think."

The elevator doors opened up and Gibbs stepped out with a coffee in one hand and what looked like a book in the other. He plopped the book in-between Kate and Tony before giving Ducky a look that neither Tony nor Kate could read. Ducky nodded and got up, saying his goodbyes and leaving for the night.

Tony looked at the book in front of him. "What's this, Boss?"

Gibbs gave him a pointed look. "Open it up." He grabbed his jacket and headed back to the elevator.

Kate got up and walked around to get a better view of the book. Tony opened up the first page and read the dedication softly. "To Jethro— I hope you'll always remember me by this. I love you. —Jenny." He looked at Kate before opening it up to the second page, where a picture of a redheaded woman, presumably Jenny, was standing with her gun aimed at the shooting range. Gibbs was standing next to her, correcting her position.

The two of them continued to look through the photo album for the rest of the night, looking over the times of Gibbs and what might have been his soul mate. They looked like they completed each other, perfectly.

"I wonder why she left him," Kate said as she grabbed her stuff and headed for the elevator with Tony.

"Maybe she didn't think she could commit to a relationship with him," Tony replied. "Maybe she was too scared."

Kate looked at him, sensing the double meaning in his words. "Is it too late to take you up on that offer for a drink?"

Tony smiled. "It never is."

"How about Friday?" Kate asked as she got off the elevator on Abby's floor.

"Sounds great. I'll pick you up at eight."

Tony smiled to himself again as the elevator doors closed. Hopefully, they wouldn't make the same mistake as Jenny and Gibbs had. Then again, maybe those two had a chance still, just like Kate and Tony.

**A/n: I had no idea how to end this, so I ended it there. ONESHOT, remember, no more. Sorry if Gibbs is OOC. Please review now! Thanks for reading! **


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